November 16, 2012

Jared Hammons is taking his talents to Miami. Not the one in South Beach, the one in Ohio. Oxford, to be exact.

Marietta High's senior golf standout had a high school career to write home about, and Hammons is ready to take his game to the collegiate level.

"It's been a dream of mine to play D1 golf since seventh grade," Hammons said. "It's unreal. I've worked very hard for it. Miami could be a career gateway for me into professional golf. It's a great opportunity for me to represent Marietta."

Article Photos

RON JOHNSTON The Marietta TimesMarietta High golfer Jared Hammons signed a National Letter of Intent in Sutton Gym Thursday to play golf and continue his education at Miami (Ohio) University in Oxford after graduation in the spring of 2013. Sitting, left to right, are Dr. Jeff Hammons (father), Jared Hammons, Julie Hammons (mother), and Justin Hammons (brother). Standing, left to right, are former MHS golf coach Joe Matheny, principal Bill Lee, Larry Slater (grandfather), and Sharon Slater (grandmother).

Times file photoMarietta High senior golf star Jared Hammons works on his putting game. On Thursday, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play golf at Miami (Ohio) in Oxford.

The list of accolades for Hammons throughout high school goes on and on.

He is a two time East Central Ohio League Player of the Year and has also been named District and Sectional Player of the Year in his career. Hammons had a scoring average of 72.2 per 18 holes (36.1 per nine) and medaled 11 times during his senior season. He also hit 5.13 fairways per nine holes, 5.25 greens per nine holes, and has been an Academic All-ECOL selection.

"It's gonna be hard to replace someone like Jared," said Marietta golf coach John Doughty. "He was a leader for us on and off the golf course. He works very hard and he's a competitor. For us, we don't win as many matches this season without him."

This season was Doughty's first year at the helm for the Tigers, succeeding long time Marietta coach Joe Matheny. Matheny, along with swing coach Doug Davis and short game coach Brad Sparling have had big influences on Hammons' development as a golfer.

"Jared came in as a freshman with a good group already in place," Matheny said. "Jared was already a good player. Seeing those kids helped him aspire to be a D1 golfer. You won't find a harder worker than Jared."

Hammons has used his summers to help him gain experience as well, competing in local tournaments as well as the American Junior Golf Association in the past. He was noticed by two major Division I programs, Miami and Northern Illinois. In the end, a visit to Oxford sealed the deal.

"During my visit (to Miami) I was very impressed," Hammons said. "The coaching staff, the players, the facilities, the academics - it's a great school."

In high school, Hammons helped lead the Tigers as a team to the district tournament all four years, including this year's team which consisted of Jeff Hensler, Joe Broughton, Garrett Bertram, Nick Thieman and Nathan Matheny in addition to Hammons and coach Doughty.

"I'm very proud of Jared," Doughty said. "Making a D1 school shows all of his hard work and his dedication to the sport."